Skirt-holder.



. 'PATENTED JUNE 9, 190a. 3,1). ENGLB. SKIRT 110mm v APPLIGATIQN FILED AUG. 7, 1902.

N0 MODEL.

- IN VENTUH' d zi vkzkzflfizyia WITNESSES: I

Patented June 9, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

STEP HEN D. ENGLE, OF HAZLETON, PENNSYLVANIA.

SKIRT-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 730,625, dated June 9, 1903.

Application 516a August 7,1902.

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN D. ENGLE, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Hazleton, in the county of 'Luzerne and State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Skirt-Holders, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact deseription.

My invention relates to improvements in skirt-holders; and the object that I have in view is the provision of a simple and cheap article for holding womens skirts fromdragging on the'roadway, thus relieving the user of the labor of holding up the skirt by hand, 1 said holder being advantageously used in connection with any kind of a skirt made of thick or thin fabrics and operating by frictional engagement of its parts with the dress fabric, so as to entirely overcome any liability of in jury thereto.

With these ends in View the invention consists in the novel construction and arrange' ment of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming apart of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate' corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective View showing my device applied. Fig. 2 is avertical sectional elevation, on an enlarged scale, illustrating the I application of the improved holder; and Fig. 3 is a view of the holder in elevation looking at the inner side or face thereof. W

In carrying my invention into practice I provide a skirt-holder consisting of a curved yieldable member 5 and a swinging member 6, the latter having a pivotal connection with the yieldable member, preferably at one end thereof, and carrying a gripping member 7, disposed in cooperative relation to the curved yieldable member 5.

In the embodiment of the invention shown by the accompanying drawings the yieldable member 5 is bent from a single piece of wire to form the side strands 5, which are united at one end by a curved cross-bar 5*, the other ends of side members 5 being bent to produce the eyes 5. The other swinging member 6 is also bent from a single piece of wire into the diverging strands 6, which are united at Serial No. 118] ?35l (N0 model.)

one end by a straight cross-bar 6; but the other end portions of these members 6 are brought together to form the shank 8, which is doubled at its free end to provide the eyes 9. The eyes of the swinging member 6 are preferably arranged between. the eyes 5 of the yield able curved member 5, and these parts are pivotally connected by a transversepin 10. The gripping member 7 is in the form of a roller, preferably made of wood or other relatively hard material, and this roller is loosely .mounted on the swinging member by fitting -are made of wire I preferably employ a face plate in order to partly conceal the members and to impart an attractive appearance to the article. This face-plate is indicated at 12, and

it may be stamped and struckup in a manner to produce an ornamental exposed face thereon. The plate is preferably curved to conform to the curvature of the member 5;

but said plate is not equal in length to the member, so that'the lower active part of the yield-able member will project beyond the lower edge of the plate. In order to unite the plate to the member 5, I provide said plate at its top edge with the perforated cars 13, which are disposed to overlap the eyes 5 of the member 5, and through these ears passes the pivotal pin 10, the latter serving to attach the upper edge of the plate to the member 5 and to pivotally connect the member 6 to said member 5 and the face-plate. The lower portion of the face-plate is provided with lips 14 at its side edges, and said lips are arranged to be bent around the strands 5 of the curved member 5 and engage therewith at points above the gripping-surface of the member 5, which cooperates with the elastic covered gripping-roller '7.

' The member 5 is peculiarly curved with relation to the swinging member 6. The major portion of this member 5 is curved on a less radius than that of the are described by the roller 7 when the member 6 is adjusted from the axis afforded by the pin 10; but the lower projecting free end of said member 5 is curved inwardly toward the path of the member 7, whereby the roller or member is adapted to ride against the free portion of the elastic member 5.-

The improved skirt-holder may be used by to turn freely on the cross-bar 6 of said mem- 7 tion of this bowed spring member is pivoted the shiftable member. The free or unconfined ber 6, whereby said roller is adapted to coop- 4 erate with the member 5 in firmly gripping the folded portion of the skirt between the two members 5 6.

From the foregoing description it will be understood that I provide a bowed spring member 5, having an unconfined or free yieldable portion 5. To the other end por- 'on an arc of less radius than that described by the gripping portion of the shiftable member to secure the necessary clamping action between the two members when brought into cooperative relation.

I prefer to provide means for connecting the skirt-holder to a waist-belt or other part of the garment, and in the embodiment of the invention herein shown I employ a suspending chain 15, the same having a connectinglink 16 at its lower part arranged to fit around the holder preferably at a point adjacent to the pivotal pin 10. The upper end of the chain 15 is provided with a hook 17, which is shown by Figs. 1 and 2 in engagement with a waist-belt B. The chain 15 is adapted to suspend the holder and the skirt, and the use of the improved article relieves the wearer from the labor of holding up the skirt, thus leaving both hands free.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A skirt-holder comprising a bowed spring member having an unconfined yieldable portion, and a shiftable member pivoted to said bowed member and having at its free end a gripping portion arranged to ride againstthe unconfined yieldable portion of the bowed member, said yieldable portion of the spring member being curved on an arc of less radius than that described by the grip-,

ping portion of the shiftable memberand normally lying in an arc eccentric to the path of the shiftable member.

2. A skirt holder comprising a curved yieldable member,a shifta'ble'member pivoted to said yieldable member, and a grippingroller carried by said pivoted member and disposed in cooperative relation to the yieldable member.

3. A skirt -holder comprising a curved yieldable member, a shiftable member pivoted thereto, and a roller mounted in said sh iftable member and provided with a yieldable gripping-face, the latter adapted to engage with the curved member.

4. A skirtholder comprising a curved yieldable member, a shiftable member pivoted thereto, a face plate fastened to the curved member and partially concealing the same, and a gripping member carried by the shiftable member.

5. A skirt-holder comprising a curved yieldable member, a shiftable member pivoted thereto and provided with a roller arranged to cooperate with said yieldable member, and a suspending chain loosely connected with said curved member.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STEPHEN D. ENGL'E.

\Vitnesses O. BAoHMAN, LOTTIE SMITH.- 

